The Dodo Archive

Major Victory: Court Orders Sunder The Elephant To Finally Be Freed

After spending years in isolation and miserable conditions, "Sunder," an elephant who has been at the center of a massive animal welfare campaign in recent years, will finally be moved to a sanctuary, thanks to a court ruling. The announcement comes after a nearly two-year-long campaign by animal welfare advocates for his freedom.

The Honourable Bombay High Court ruled in favour of PETA India by upholding a previous ruling by the government of Maharashtra on Monday, the last hurdle that campaigners working to save Sunder had to overcome. The ruling will enforce that previous measure, which in August 2012 ordered officials to release Sunder to a sanctuary.

Originally, Sunder was given as a gift to a temple in Kolhapur, India, and kept chained there and abused for six years, until the Maharashtra Forest Department and Project Elephant ordered the temple to send him to a sanctuary in 2012. But the elephant was instead sent to what PETA called an "old dark poultry shed in Warananagar" -- and where footage was taken showing handlers abusing him.

Now, PETA reports that Sunder will be transferred to the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Bangalore. According to a release, the organization is "calling on officials to implement the court's order quickly, before he can be harmed again."

Coincidentally, the news came the same day that PETA filed a complaint to rescue another elephant from disturbing conditions -- this one is Nosey, a circus elephant in Florida. You can read more about the campaign to free Nosey here.